Towards a Generic Value Network for Cloud Computing

With the rise of a ubiquitous provision of computing resources over the past years, cloud computing has been established as a prominent research topic. In contrast to many other research works, this paper does not focus on technical aspects of cloud computing but rather takes a business perspective. By taking this perspective we examine the ecosystem that has developed around cloud computing. Here, new market players emerged, breaking up the traditional value chain of IT service provision. In this paper we describe the roles of different market actors and develop a generic value network of cloud computing, using the e(3)-value method. Based on interviews with domain experts we were able to draw first estimates regarding possible future value streams within the ecosystem. Extending the prevailing technical perspective of cloud computing, this paper shifts the focus to a broader understanding of business opportunities and business value. Researchers can apply the developed generic value network as an analytical framework to guide their research, while practitioners might apply it to position themselves in the cloud computing market and identify possible business opportunities.